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Biomedical subjects

J M Ragnaud

Publications and source records attributed to J M Ragnaud.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Latency and reactivation of JC virus in peripheral blood of human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected patients.

JC virus (JCV) acts as an opportunistic virus in immunocompromised human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected patients. The role of peripheral blood cells in central nervous system invasion, before the onset of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), remains controversial. In order to clarify JCV latency or reactivation status in peripheral blood, 72 HIV-1-infected patients were studied, together with 7 HIV-1-positive PML patients and 50 blood donors. Blood leukocytes, plasma, and B lymphocytes were investigated by two complementary DNA amplification procedures within the early T and late VP1 JCV genes and two reverse transcription techniques for the detection of corresponding early transcripts and mRNAs. JCV DNA was detected in 40.3% of the HIV-1-infected patients but only 8% of the blood donors (P < 0.001). Leukocytes represented 82.7% of the positive samples, but plasma from 12 patients (41.4%) contained JCV DNA. B lymphocytes seemed to be involved in the natural history of JCV but did not represent the unique cell target. JCV DNA was intermittently found in blood, and JCV mRNAs for VP1 capsid protein were detected exclusively in one PML patient. Such observations demonstrate that JCV, when detected in blood, does not undergo active multiplication. They support the JCV hematogenous spread hypothesis, but do not indicate any direct link between peripheral virus and dissemination in the central nervous system at the time of immunodepression.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1996

Prevalence and determinants of antibodies to hepatitis C virus and markers for hepatitis B virus infection in patients with HIV infection in Aquitaine. Groupe d'Epidémiologie Clinique du SIDA en Aquitaine.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus and serological markers for hepatitis B virus infection in patients with HIV. DESIGN: Cross sectional survey. SETTING: Aquitaine, southwestern France, 1991-94. SUBJECTS: 1935 HIV positive patients seen at least once since June 1991. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Presence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus were detected by second or third generation enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) and markers for hepatitis B virus detected by ELISA. RESULTS: The prevalence was 42.5% (823) for antibodies to hepatitis C virus, 56.4 (507) for antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen, 6.9% (133) for hepatitis B surface antigen, 30.2% (584) for antibodies to hepatitis B core and surface antigen with no detectable surface antigen, 26.2% (507) for antibodies to core antigen only, and 4.8% (92) for antibodies to surface antigen only. The prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus was 86.1% (726/843) in subjects who had bloodborne HIV infection and 7.3% (66/899) in those with sexually acquired infection. The prevalence of markers for hepatitis B was higher among homosexuals than in the other groups of patients, except for antibodies to surface antigen alone. The relation between markers for hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus was negative among men but positive among women. CONCLUSIONS: The results favour the hypothesis that hepatitis C virus is sexually transmitted much less commonly than either HIV or hepatitis B virus.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1996

Kinetics of appearance of neutralizing antibodies in 12 patients with primary or recent HIV-1 infection and relationship with plasma and cellular viral loads.

HIV-1 primary infection is characterized by a short high titer viremia, which rapidly declines as the immune response emerges. The role of autologous neutralizing antibodies in the decline of viral replication was evaluated in 12 patients with primary or recent HIV-1 infection. Neutralizing antibodies detected for each patient could not generally be observed before several months after isolation of the first obtained HIV isolate. The plasma viral load, as measured by quantitation of the HIV-1 RNA, underwent a global decrease during the first 6 months of the infection, but this decrease did not seem to be associated with the emergence of neutralizing antibodies. The proviral load in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, which was studied by quantitative DNA polymerase chain reaction, exhibited fluctuations and was not as well curtailed as the plasma viremia in the majority of patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[Kikuchi-Fujimoto necrotizing histiocytic lymphadenitis: apropos of 2 cases and review of the literature].

The Kikuchi-Fujimoto's syndrome is an histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis which is observed at any ages but preferentially among young adults. The sex ratio is about 4:1 in favour of women. It is clinically characterized by cervical lymph nodes in a context of fever and asthenia. Sometimes, there is transitory leucopenia and an increase of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The course of the disease is spontaneously favourable in 1 or 3 months but recurrence is possible. The histology of the lymph node could mimic a malignant lymphoma and the immunohistochemical findings are of a great importance (Ki-M1P or KP1 antibody). The etiology remains unknown but some infectious diseases have been suspected (toxoplamosis, Epstein-Barr virus). Its association with a systemic lupus erythematous had been described and this set the problem of its physiopathology. We report two new cases of Kikuchi-Fujimoto's syndrome which one was attributed to Epstein-Barr virus primo-infection and the other associated with a systemic lupus erythematous.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in AIDS: retrospective analysis of 80 documented cases (1985-1993)].

Eighty initial episodes of HIV-associated Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) diagnosed at Bordeaux hospital between 1985 and 1993 are reported (57 were men and 23 women). PCP revealed HIV infection in 29 patients (36%). Others cases were patients with poor medical follow up (10%), with a CD4+ lymphocyte count above 200/mm3 at last follow-up (9%), non compliant with PCP prophylaxis (9%), or using aerolized pentamidine (AP+) (20%). The main clinical symptoms were fever (90%), dyspnea (68%), non productive (63%) and productive (17%) cough. Radiographic infiltrates were purely interstitial (59%), acinar and interstitial (25%), purely acinar (5%) and absent (11%). Thirty-eight percent of AP+ had upper lobe preferential involvement and 13% a pleural effusion. In all cases, Pneumocystis carinii was detected in bronchoalveolar lavage. Extrapulmonary localizations of pneumocystosis were noticed (eye, liver, spleen, ascitis) in two AP+. Mean CD4+ count was 54/mm3 in patients not having received aerolized pentamidine (AP-) and 22/mm3 in AP+. P24 antigenemia was positive in 53% (AP-) and 88% (AP+). PaO2 LDH and albuminemia were similar in both groups. Antimicrobial therapy (Cotrimoxazole in 91% of the cases) was combined with corticosteroids in 45% and mechanic ventilation in 19%. After 30 days of follow-up, 17 deaths were observed (21%) and 14 attributed to PCP: mortality was worse in AP+ (31%) than in AP- (19%). The main conclusions of our study are the followings: HIV related PCP is still in 1995 frequent and severe; atypical features should not rule out diagnosis; preventive measures are neither sufficient nor efficient. PCP remains in 1995 a priority in HIV related public health and therapeutical research.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1996

Increases in CD3+CD4-CD8- T lymphocytes in AIDS patients with disseminated Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex infection.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected persons frequently have increased numbers of T cells bearing the gamma delta T cell receptor for antigen (gamma delta TCR). HIV-1-seropositive patients with < 100 CD4+ cells/mm3 were selected and divided into 9 AIDS-defining illness groups. The percentages of CD4+, CD8+, or double-negative CD4-CD8- (DN) T cells (most of the latter expressing the gamma delta TCR) for 8 symptomatic groups were compared with those for a reference group of asymptomatic HIV-1-infected patients. DN T cells were increased only in patients with disseminated Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex (MAC) infection, toxoplasmosis, or Kaposi's sarcoma. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the percentage of DN T cells was a better predictor of MAC infection than was the percentage of CD4+T cells. The increased percentage of DN T cells might have important implications for the understanding of gamma delta T cell physiology and for the early diagnosis and management of MAC infections in AIDS patients.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1996

Detection of JC virus DNA in the peripheral blood leukocytes of HIV-infected patients.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether JC virus (JCV) DNA is frequently harboured by peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) in HIV-positive patients, before the onset of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). DESIGN: The polyomavirus JCV induces PML in immunocompromised persons and particularly AIDS patients. Leukocytes may play a central part in the onset of PML, but their precise role in JCV latency and reactivation still remains hypothetical. The controversial presence of JCV DNA in PBL has been, until now, investigated only among small groups of patients. We therefore studied 157 HIV-positive persons and compared them with 65 HIV-negative immunocompromised patients. METHODS: DNA was extracted from PBL. The presence of JCV DNA was demonstrated by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) alone or combined with a molecular hybridization assay. RESULTS. The presence of JCV DNA was ascertained by PCR and hybridization in 28.9% of 135 HIV-infected persons at all stages of HIV infection and only 16.4% of 61 HIV-negative immunocompromised patients. No correlation could be drawn between the detection of JCV DNA and the clinical or biological status of the HIV-positive patients. CONCLUSIONS: JCV DNA is detectable in the PBL of 28.9% of HIV-infected persons, even in the early stages of infection. JCV is more seldomly amplified in HIV-negative immunocompromised patients. Further work is in progress to determine the prognostic value of the presence of JCV DNA in the blood of HIV-positive patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Evolution of tumor necrosis factor-alpha serum concentrations in HIV infected individuals treated with zidovudine.

We studied the evolution of Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha serum concentration (TNF-alpha) and CD4+ lymphocyte counts (CD4+) in a pilot cohort study of HIV-infected patients during the first year of zidovudine therapy. Data on 17 patients remaining asymptomatic during the one-year follow-up period (non progressors) were analysed. Serum samples were obtained at entry and at each follow-up visit (1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months). TNF-alpha was quantified in pg/ml using a very sensitive radioimmunoassay (Medgenix). All patients had increased TNF-alpha at entry (median: 26.4 pg/ml). TNF-alpha decreased significantly as soon as the first month of therapy (median: 16 pg/ml). A steady state was then observed until Month 6 (median: 17.5 pg/ml), from which a slow increase appeared, without reaching the initial level (median at Month 9: 21.3, at Month 12: 19.8). During the same time, less sustained changes in CD4+ lymphocytes count and beta-2 microglobulin level were observed. The results of this pilot study suggest that, during HIV infection treated course, TNF-alpha could potentially be an additional surrogate marker to CD4+ lymphocyte count.

Anti-HIV Agents↗
PubMed1995

Genotypic evolution of HIV-1 isolates from patients after a switch of therapy from zidovudine to didanosine.

The existence of zidovudine (ZDV)-resistant and didanosine (ddI)-resistant human immunodeficiency-1 (HIV-1) variants mutated in the reverse transcriptase (RT) gene has been previously demonstrated. In this study, we tried to follow up the genotypic changes in the RT after the switch of therapy from ZDV to ddI. We studied HIV-1 isolates from 11 patients undergoing ddI therapy. Genotypic data were obtained with differential polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and with direct sequencing after PCR. The prevalence of ZDV resistance-related mutations showed a very slow decrease, particularly when patients had been treated with ZDV for a long time. The appearance of a mutation at codon 74 seemed to be independent of the presence or absence of ZDV resistance-related mutations. The broad genotypic heterogeneity of the isolates and the complexity of the evolution in one patient's isolates plead for large sequencing studies of the RT genome in new therapeutic approaches.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1995

[Disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex infections in AIDS. Apropos of 100 cases. Groupe d'Epidémiologie clinique du SIDA en Aquitaine].

The improvement of survival of AIDS patients allowed the emergence of disseminated Mycobacterium avium Complex infections (D.MAC). Here we report the experience of the group of "Epidémiologie clinique du sida en Aquitaine (GECSA)" about 100 patients. There were no differences according to sex, age and route of acquisition of HIV. Clinical and biological characteristics of the infections were not specific. The mean TCD4+ lymphocytes count was 18/mm3. The diagnostic was generally established by systematic blood culture on Septi-Chek in patients with TCD4+ lymphocytes count below 75/mm3. The recommendations on therapy for D.MAC are to use regimen containing azithromycin or clarithromycin, ethambutol and one of the following drugs, rifabutin, clofazimine, amikacin, or ciprofloxacin. Rifabutin is recommended for prophylaxis in patients with lymphocytes TCD4+ count below 100/mm3.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1995

[Neurologic manifestations of Lyme disease. Apropos of 25 cases].

We studied retrospectively the cases of neurological forms of Lyme disease observed in two internal and two neurological departments from 1986 till 1993. Twenty five cases have been collected among 15 men and ten women whose mean age was 61 years. Tick bites were previously noticed in 11 cases. Erythema chronicum migrans (ECM) was mentioned in 16 cases mostly on lower limbs. The mean time between ECM and the onset of neurological symptoms was less than 1 month in 11 cases, 2 months in three cases, and 6 months in two cases. Neurological abnormalities were often associated in the same patient. Hyperalgic radiculitis (n = 16), mainly noticed in the ECM territory (n = 10) was only sensitive in six cases and associated with motor deficit in ten. Atypical polyradiculoneuritis was achieved in six cases. Clinical (n = 5) or biological (n = 22) meningitis could occur: CSF was clear with pleiocytosis (132 per mm3), mainly lymphocytic, and hyperproteinorachia (1.2 g/l) with normoglycorachia. An increase of the CSF immunoglobulins G with oligoclonal fragmentation was noticed in 11 cases. Cranial neuropathy was frequent: VII (n = 8), VI (n = 2), III, IV, VIII (n = 1). Encephalitis (with white matter demyelination) resolved partially in two cases. Diagnosis was always confirmed by Borrelia burgdorferi serology (indirect immunofluorescence) with a significant increase of the antibodies titer (n = 17) or a CSF titer > 1/4 (n = 11). Syphilitic serology was always negative. All patients were treated with parenteral beta lactamins and four with corticosteroids. Outcome was favorable in 20 patients with incomplete resolution of neurological symptoms in two patients.

Adult↗